All Forum Posts by: Raquel Pea

Hi @Joseph Hopkins!

I would second @Mindy Jensen's advice of starting with The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Investing in Real Estate, it's a great place to discover the different methods of investing you might be interested in, then you can move on from there! After reading through that myself, I really enjoyed reading Brandon Turner's books that you can find here on BiggerPockets under the Education tab,  in "Books & Resources". 

Stick with it. If you run into any bumps in the road, share and ask questions here on BiggerPockets. We're here to help each other out along the way.

Enjoy your adventures!

~ Raquel Pea

Well said @Ryan Landis, good things DO happen when we share our passions, are curious, and make the effort to share our knowledge! Welcome to the community @Carolina Solorzano! Sounds like you already have your foot in the real estate investing door. Hope to see you at one of the BP meetups soon.

@Shanequa J. I am considering doing just that. My brother is a programmer and says it is definitely doable. I will first try an FOIA request to see if I can acquire a more detailed list, but that is my second resort. Thanks!

@Rick H. Thank you for the advice! I'm actually hoping to market to the individuals who still privately own their properties and are at risk of losing their property to tax foreclosure soon, but are not yet on the tax sale list. I have been told that once a property is foreclosed on and put up for auction / tax sale, bidding wars can seriously drive the price up, and there is a huge amount of competition. 

I totally agree that Alameda county has a "different" way of managing their real estate property information. It was a hassle even getting general property ownership information to find absentee owners, but I did it! I also am certain I won't be buying a home for 1.25% of market value, but I think that tax delinquent owners will be motivated enough to sell for a good percentage off of market value, enough to get investors jumping on an assignment of contract in such a hot market such as West Oakland. 

Thanks again! Appreciate all the answers.

Thank you all for the advice! @Account Closed and @Don Cuffy, I also believe that under the Freedom Of Information Act, the unfiltered list should be made public, free of charge. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I am going to try what you two have advised, it is incredibly helpful! 

Chris M. Thanks for the info, Chris. I did realize that we can only view the tax info in our county property by property, but I like your idea of finding properties which are both distressed and behind on taxes. Thanks! Going to drive for dollars tomorrow. Anastasia Jordan I wish more counties in California would do the same as Alabama. Alameda county doesn't provide the entire list anywhere online, hence the $1,000 "labor" fee.

Originally posted by @JR T.:

The price for the list is $1,000. 

Only you can decide if you have what it takes to turn that list into money.

I do have what it takes, but being a full time student (broke) I need to budget some of that $1,000 towards direct mail marketing after obtaining the list, and am looking for other sources. I'm getting the feeling the county treasurer is the only source at 1K! Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Hello BP! 

I just began working with a local wholesaler in order to become more comfortable with the specifics of wholesaling in Alameda County. I wanted to be very proactive and begin bringing her leads on my own, and I figured that marketing to individuals on the local delinquent tax list would be a great place to begin, especially because most of those on the list are absentee owners or heirs who are soon to lose their property to tax foreclosure.

I contacted the Alameda Country Treasurer, and they quoted a price of $1,000 for the list and are very solid on that quote. They say that this is because this is not information the general public asks for, and they must request the list be put together by their internal IT company. It seems a bit ridiculous. I would understand a price of $500, but $1,000?! 

I really want this list. I know the returns will be wonderful with a bit of elbow grease and hard work. I can't think of any other way to obtain the list. Should I simply pay the $1,000 and consider it a worthwhile investment? How did you wholesalers out there get a hold of this list, and what do you think is a reasonable price?

Thank you everybody! Really enjoy learning through this community and the wonderful podcasts.

~ Raquel Pea

Originally posted by @Jessi Hill:

Raquel Pea I'm not crafty at all!! In fact I would never endeavor to redo cabinets for my own use! But when it saves a thousand off a rehab I'm all over it. I started by asking some crafty friends and then pinterested. I literally spent hours upon hours googling "bungalow color schemes" "diy cabinet makeovers" and the like. There are a ton of ways to save money on lower end flips like this one. We bought our counters from ikea. And we used laminate floor tile for the backsplash (after seeing more expensive versions of the same thing at HD). In a house in this price range we couldn't afford all the expensive upgrades so we picked stuff that looked great and reused what we could.

That's super awesome! I always thought I could do the same, but seeing you do it is incredibly inspiring. The Internet is such an amazing tool, and I feel so many of us can save a ton while learning valuable skills through websites and tutorials. Thanks again for all the details, and keep it up Jessi! :)

Originally posted by @Jessi Hill:

Thanks guys!!! And I did take the kittens first. I'm always bringing home boxes of kittens from my RE prospecting.

This wasn't a foreclosure. Actually it had been purchased as a foreclosure for 10k a year or so before I bought it. They had redone the electricity, hot water and AC. They made it livable (kinda) but it was still a disaster. We bought it for cash. We had to level the foundation, treat for termites, and add plumbing for a bathroom. Those were the largest expenses. We also finished a framed in wall, painted and opened up the spaces. Redid lotsa tile work and floors, painted the outside and added new appliances. I actually re-did the cabinets myself. They were nasty 90's greasy cabinets. I cleaned them, we painted them with fancy (on clearance) paint and then used a glaze for an antique look. Then we staggered them and added crown molding. Changed the whole look. Cost about $200 bucks and 3 weekends.

 Nice! Thanks for the details. Mind me asking where your experience with the minor remodels, such as the cabinet re-do, came from? It sounds like you found a great deal and you definitely are a strong woman. I hope to do the same soon, but really wish I had more experience with remodeling, so that I can put in the work myself!